10 Jul 2014 17:11

Ukrainian troops claim to have retaken 23 of 36 Donbas districts; no change in figures since last week

KYIV. July 10 (Interfax) - Twenty-three of 36 districts of the Donbas region have been taken under control during the security operation in east Ukraine, said Andriy Parubiy, the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (SNBO).

Currently, the Ukrainian army controls 13 of the 18 districts in the Donetsk region and ten of the 18 districts in the Luhansk region, the SNBO said on its website on Thursday. "This is more than two-thirds of the territory of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. And each day we are freeing more and more towns," Parubiy said.

He cited the same figures a week ago.

"As of today (July 4) government forces control 23 out of 36 districts in the ATO (anti-terrorist operation) zone in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions," Parubiy said at a briefing last Friday.